Is the Ouya Worth Buying?

The Ouya is almost here, with the new console shipping out March 28th to Kickstarter buyers and by June for regular retail and online purchases.

With the Wii U already out, the PS4 on its way, and current generation consoles slashing prices as new ones approach – is the Ouya actually worth buying? That’s a good question, and largely will depend on what you are looking for.

Ouya – The Hardware

While an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor is far from cutting edge in the mobile world at this point, it isn’t a pushover by any means either. With a 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3, 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal flash, the Ouya is actually rather powerful for its $99 asking price.

Sure, the Ouya is not a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. That said, its specs likely are a step over the Nintendo Wii. While Nintendo’s Wii didn’t support HD graphics, the Ouya will after all.

So is the Ouya priced well for its specs? Yes! To put it into comparison, a Wii black bundle with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort currently costs $129.99. The Ouya is $99, and has tons of free games available for download that probably match the kind of depth found with many of the Wii Sports games.

It is also worth noting that Ouya has revealed that will upgrade the system every year for just $99. According to their plan, games will likely ‘scale’ their graphics depending on what kind of processor/RAM configuration you have and anything you buy for the first Ouya will transfer to the second-gen model and so on.

This means that the Ouya could end up costing hundreds if you buy a model each year, but it also means less spending all at once and yet you still will get a reasonably decent gaming and entertainment experience.

But why not just get a PS3, 360, next Xbox or PS4?

If you have the money and only have one TV set you regularly use, getting a Sony or Microsoft console (or even the Wii U) is probably going to give you a more advanced gaming experience. That said, Ouya will give you many of the unique indie games that you won’t find on the Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo consoles. You might find some of these on your tablet or smartphone, though.

The biggest reason to buy the Ouya is that it is very affordable and is great as a secondary gaming/entertainment device if you have multiple TVs in your house. Unlike the Wii or even the Sony/Microsoft current consoles, the Ouya will have TONS of major entertainment apps and not just the ‘bigger players’ like Netflix and Hulu Plus.

The Family Factor

Let’s say you are a parent. You are looking for a “gaming” device for your family but you either have a limited budget or just feel your kids don’t need a $350+ gaming system.

You could go with a tablet, but it isn’t exactly great for multiplayer. The Ouya supports multiple controllers and is very affordable. There are also tons of free games and every game can at least be tried before you buy it.

That alone makes the $99 quite trivial for parents of younger kids that don’t necessarily need the “hardcore” games that a teenager or young adult gamer might be after.

The Open Factor

Like modding and tinkering? The Ouya comes with standard screw sizes that make it easy to take apart. The software is built on Android and fully capable of being opened up. More than likely ROMs that give you full Android Jelly Bean experiences will also arrive for the console at some point in the future.

The bottom-line is that if you want to unlock extra abilities out of your Ouya, you can. Additionally, if you are a developer, any Ouya can be a developer unit. This is important not just for Ouya developing, but helping refine your skills if you are still new to the development game.

The Entertainment Factor

As mentioned before, there will be plenty of apps like YouTube, Vevo, XBMC, TuneIn, Netflix and more. The Ouya is no more expensive than any of these set-top boxes and yet offers a similar selection of apps on top of its games. Have an entertainment app you wish the Ouya came with that works for Android? It is very possible to make it work though modding, thanks to the open nature and Android-basis of the device.

The Gaming Factor

The Ouya is first and foremost an open gaming system geared towards indie gamers, casual gamers and those that like the idea of playing mobile games on the big screen. While there isn’t any “killer” titles announced at this point, there are over 200+ games on their way to the Ouya around its launch window, with much more to follow. Is this is a hardcore system? I would say yes. It is also a casual system. There will likely be a little bit of both mixed in here, though expect the majority of the more “hardcore” games to probably be from indie studios (not that this is a bad thing).

Not all of these will be gems, but even if you find just two or three you love – it will likely pay for the paltry price of the Ouya.

There are also a few unique looking games being worked on for the Ouya, like the one in this trailer:

Interested in learning more about the games coming to Ouya? Here’s a pretty comprehensive list.

The bottom-line is that the Ouya probably isn’t going to take the gaming world by storm and knock out the competition, but it could certainly be exactly what you are looking for if you want a cheap gaming and entertainment system regardless of whether you are a parent, a mobile gamer, indie gamer or simply someone wanting a set-top box with a few games thrown in.

What do you think of the Ouya, do you think it is worth it or do you feel that it is a good idea but largely one that has very little chance of succeeding?

22 Comments

Everyone is missing the concept and reason this console was developed. It is for anyone that is interested in open source game dev, but will also offer some pretty interesting games you wouldn’t normally have access to. Order and Chaos is an MMO, that works very well and has pretty decent graphics. This is proof that the console has so much more to offer and will grow due to the gaming community and game devs. Im getting one for sure, cant wait to have my NES and SNES games running on this beast.

I think im gonna get one solely for emulators, its gonna be awesome being able to just throw it in my backpack, take it over friends house and have tons of snes and 64 games to play, plus if it can support netflix, so i dont have to pay for xbox live to watch it then that is great!

why not buy a ps3 x360 or ps4 thats obvious because thinking people will be buying a wiiu OBVIOUSLY

the ouya is just a smart device in a box my sony experia T has higher gaming specs what on earth would i want it for a android low end device with a OUT DATED DUALSHOCK 4 LIKE DUMB CONTROLLER no thanks ?

wiiu offers a level of control and depth and controller choice no other system can ever come close to…

ad to this wiius indie support is AMAZING and android games can be AUTO PORTED TO WiiU in seconds-minutes-hours-days WITH EASE

theres been android games ported to wiiu in the click of a button ad dual screens wii remote plus remote play dualscreen multi player 1080p support

First of all, I love my wii u so I felt like this article sort of trolled nintendo just a bit. Second of all, most the games I’ve played on android or any tablet device seem to lack the depth that console or pc gaming give. I think they should have made this a hand held devise much like a ds or psp type of device. Ps. Wii u has a lot of indie developers interested in it. However, I won’t lie and say I’m not interested in the ouya cause I am. That was my three cents

Sorry, didn’t mean to sound negative on Nintendo. Keep in mind I mentioned that the Ouya is a step up (by a little) from the Wii. The Wii U is obviously much more powerful.

I have nothing against Nintendo, especially considering I own every Nintendo system ever made with the exception of the Wii U, 3DS, and minor console revisions (like I only have a DS, not a DS lite)… that includes the ill-fated Virtual Boy. :)

My NES and SNES are still hooked up in my living room. Anyhow, thanks for commenting!

I won’t be buying this, my Nexus 4 has more RAM, Storage and a better CPU/GPU. Coupled to the ability to plug in an HDMI cable to a tv via slimport and the ability to connect a PS3 controller via bluethooth, I don’t have any reason to buy this console.

Plus i’m sure someone will quickly find a way to port the Ouya games to regular Android so I could still play them.

Don’t lie. You won’t be buying this because you spent all your money on a lame phone that will be obsolete in a year. $400 phone + $40 controller to play android games? No thanks. I’d rather pay $100 to have proper TV and controller support built in. And to think you flaunt your stupidity with pride.

Its a nice idea but the Galaxy S4 will kill this console the S4 has more power, better graphics, connects wireless to you TV and the phone is the controller, and Ouya still does not have access to the play store.

I can’t wait til this finally comes out and people can see first hand that this will not just be a console for “phone games”. It’ll be a console for whatever the developers want it to be. If the developers want to makes some kind of epic MMORPG then that is part of what the console will be. It has nothing to do with what the console looks like or what OS is running on it. It is all about what games the developers makes. If the developers if Halo for instance put their game on the Ouya does it make Halo for the Ouya a “Phone Game” or a “Casual Game”? Obviously not.

I’m basically buying it because i’m a big Indie fan. The idea of Indie games on your T.V. instead of your PC (its less work to set your PC to your TV). The most fun i had was with indie titles, not AAA games. Graphics don’t make the game, its the experience that goes with it. Think Super Mario Bros. With a price tag of 99USD, you know you cant go wrong.

pretty much, I’m looking forward more to the OUYA than the PS4 or next-gen XBOX.